Argentina forward is set for his first start for his new team against the Canaries on Saturday.
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Tottenham Hotspur head coach Andre Villas-Boas says that recent new signing Erik Lamela may take some time to adapt to life in the Premier League due to the fact that the Argentinian does not speak a word of English, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
The highly-rated wide-man moved to White Hart Lane from Serie A giants AS Roma on Aug 30, with the 21-year-old joining the north London club for an initial fee of £25.8m, although that could rise to as much as £30m depending on certain add-ons.
And now the Argentina international is in line to make his first start for his new team in their home clash with Norwich City on Saturday afternoon, although Lamela did come on as a second-half substitute in Tottenham’s last fixture before the recent international break, the 1-0 loss to city-rivals Arsenal at the Emirates.
However, his manager at the Lane has warned the clubs’ fans to be patient with the winger, saying: “He’s going to suffer problems of adaptation because he doesn’t speak a word of English.
“He has to adapt to a completely different culture and mentality, which we are sure he will, but we’re unsure of how much time it will take, but he will.
“I think the qualities he brings are his creativeness, his ability to find the last pass that leads to a goal. He’s a natural talent. He’s not a pure, pure winger; he’s creative and likes to come inside and find different spaces. He’s a player with tremendous potential that we have to work on.
“He’s a wonderful, gifted footballer. The fact he’s yet to train with the team puts him in a very difficult position to start the game, but it it not impossible. For somebody so gifted, adapting shouldn’t be a problem.
“Lamela just landed in England this morning, so he wasn’t involved in training, but they’re used to these kind of trips and effort. I expect him to be involved in the game.”
Lamela spent two seasons in the Italian capital, during which time the attacking midfield player registered 21 goals and 12 assists in total in his 66 matches for the Romans in all competitions.